Cuba - Lonely Planet [274]
Getting Around
TO/FROM THE AIRPORT
A taxi to the airport should cost CUC$5 from town or you can hang around for the local bus (No 22) from Parque Finlay (opposite the regional bus station) that runs every 30 minutes on weekdays and hourly on weekends.
BICI-TAXIS
Bicycle taxis are found on the square beside La Soledad or in Plaza Maceo. Technically, bici-taxis aren’t permitted to carry tourists, but they do (including organized tour groups); they should cost five pesos, but they’ll probably ask for payment in Convertibles.
CAR
Car-hire prices start at around CUC$70 a day plus gas depending on make of car and duration of hire. Hire companies include Havanautos (Hotel Camagüey 27-22-39; Carretera Central Este Km 4.5; Ignacio Agramonte International Airport 28-70-67).
Guarded parking (CUC$2 for 24 hours) is available for those brave enough to attempt Camagüey’s maze in a car. Ask at your hotel/casa particular for details.
There are two Servi-Cupet gas stations (Carretera Central; 24hr) near Av de la Libertad. Driving in Camagüey’s narrow one-way streets is a sport akin to Olympic tobogganing. Avoid it if you possibly can.
HORSE CARTS
Horse carts shuttle along a fixed route between the bus station and the train station, though you may have to change carts at Casino Campestre, near the river.
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FLORIDA
pop 53,441
A million metaphoric miles from Miami, the hard-working sugar-mill town of Florida, 46km northwest of Camagüey on the way to Ciego de Ávila, is a viable overnighter if you’re driving around central Cuba and are too tired to negotiate the labyrinthine streets of Camagüey after dark (a bad idea, whatever your physical or mental state is). There’s a working rodeo, a hospital and an Etecsa telephone office.
Sleeping & Eating
Hotel Florida (Islazul; 5-3011; Carretera Central Km 534; s/d CUC$24/32; ) This two-story hotel, 2km west of the center of town, has 74 adequate rooms. The entry drive is potholed, which sort of sets the tone for the place, but the staff are friendly and the price no more than a local casa particular.
Next to the Hotel Florida is Cafetería Caney, a thatched restaurant that’s better value than the fly-blown hotel restaurant.
Getting There & Away
A Servi-Cupet gas station (Carretera Central) is in the center of town. Passenger trucks run from Florida to Camagüey where you can connect with Víazul.
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SIERRA DEL CHORRILLO
This protected area 36km southeast of Camagüey contains three low-hill ranges: the Sierra del Chorrillo, the Sierra del Najasa and the Guaicanámar (highest point 324m). Nestled in their grassy uplands is La Hacienda la Belén (admission CUC$6; 27-49-95), a handsome country ranch that was built by a Peruvian architect during WWII, and is now run as a nature reserve by travel agency Ecotur ( 27-49-95). As well as boasting an interesting display of (nonindigenous) exotic animals such as zebras, deer, bulls and horses, the park functions as a bird reserve, and is one of the best places in Cuba to view rare species such as the Cuban parakeet, the giant kingbird and the Antillean palm swift. Another curiosity is a three-million-year-old petrified forest of fossilized tree stumps spread over one hectare.
There is a swimming pool and a restaurant on-site, as well as accommodation provided in a rustic hacienda (r with bath CUC$35) with a 16-person capacity. Treks can be arranged around the reserve by jeep or on horseback and there are two guided walks: the Sendero Santa Gertrudis (4.5km) covering flora, fauna and a cave, and the Sendero de las Aves (1.8km), which reveals a cornucopia of birdlife. You’ll need your own wheels to get here (drive 24km east of Camagüey on Carretera Central,